Review: HANA-BI

Takeshi Kitano’s HANA-BI is like blood drops on snow: serene and beautiful moments broken by spatterings of violence. This is the first Japanese film that I have watched since we decided we were going to see Japan for ourselves. I watched it alone, and it has left me feeling a bit glum despite how much I enjoyed it. It wasn’t the first time I saw it, but I could remember little besides Takeshi’s surrealist paintings, the long empty beach, and the “chopsticks in the eye”-scene. I don’t think I can do the film any justice with my own words, but I feel I need to express some things.

HANA-BI is an existentialist road trip. It tells the story of three characters. The bereaved parents: a detective (Nishi portrayed by Takeshi Kitano) and his terminally ill wife who go on a trip together to find meaning in each other and their lives. And lastly, the detective’s partner (Horibe) who is shot and paralyzed from the waist down. His loving wife and child abandon him and he too has to find a reason to live. The soundtrack set the tone, optimistic yet melancholy, and guides from the beginning until the end while Nishi tangles with the Yakuza and Horibe staves off suicide with art.

I caught glimpses of places I hope to visit: Tokyo, already foreign in the daytime, but as lit up and as unreal as Blade Runner at night. There, see Mount Fuji glimpsed upon the horizon, and the peaceful Hakone park. A traditional spa hotel complete with tatami mats and a futon, the Yakuza dressed in shimmering 90’s suits, and the biggest collection of Promarkers I have ever seen.

The film was not fast-paced – you need patience and a quiet room to enjoy it properly. It told its story in a stylized, minimalist manner. Nothing unnecessary is spoken and the film conveys its most important messages just by showing them. I saw familiar moments in Horibe’s struggle to find inspiration for his art, the intimidation of a blank piece of paper, and the courage it takes to simply begin something and to keep going. Nishi’s love for his wife, who has almost become childlike in the way she finds simple pleasures in life, is touching and it hurts to know that soon it will be over.

As Nishi and his wife travel across Japan, Nishi leaves stacks of money for his friends (procured by a very unique bank robbery), and a trail of dead and injured Yakuza for the cops following him to find. It is not like Bonnie and Clyde, as Nishi’s wife seems unaware of the carnage left behind, but the story escalates past the point of no return.

The film is not for everyone. Make no mistake: it is very good, and it left me thinking and feeling, but if you don’t have the patience to sit down and let it reel you in, if you are just waiting for one-liners, explosions, and car-chases, this is not the story for you. If you are hoping for a mushy love-story with plenty of slow-motion crying and Celine Dion crooning in the background, this is not for you. The film is subtle and forces you to think. It knows that even if you die, it’s not the end of the world. It is as loving and unrelenting as Nishi. If you want something special, see it.